1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to methods for the treatment of garbage and waste management. More particularly this invention relates to a system for the efficient and ecological treatment of waste by use of existing available strip mines as landfill sites. In this system, waste is first pre-processed and then transported to a second processing location near a landfill site. At this second processing site the waste is pulverized, mixed with water and processing chemicals to form a slurry, and then delivered to the landfill with an auger device. This system also includes a landfill construction where the landfill (preferably an abandoned strip coal mine) is first prepared by placing a layer of clay around the pit, covering the clay with coal, and finally a layer of lye over the coal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Previous systems for waste management have generally included simply the dumping and compacting of unprocessed waste and garbage into landfill sites. And these landfill sites are usually clean sand or gravel pits. As a result, the leachate from the landfill frequently contaminates the water table surrounding the landfill, and there is limited recovery of by-products from the landfill process. None of the prior waste management systems have addressed the economics of transportation to the landfill sites nor completely resolved the issue of site contamination.
It is accordingly the objective of the present invention to economically use the previously existing natural landfill sites, namely abandoned strip coal mines, and the underused rail transportation to these sites. It is a further objective to use a novel hopper/grinder apparatus to process the waste for compaction and for slurry production with chemical processing additives, and to use an efficient auger device to move the waste to or from the rail line and to deposit the waste slurry into the landfill. Finally, it is an objective to control the leachate and to recover the emanating gas for industrial use.